As previously reported, the “Cyber Sovereignty” conference, dedicated to the "Year of the Constitution and Sovereignty," was held in the city of Nakhchivan. The event was organized by the Association of Cybersecurity Organizations of Azerbaijan, with the National Cybersecurity Center and “Caspel” LLC as key partners.

The second panel of the conference, which consisted of three sessions, focused on the topic of “Human Capital in the Field of Cybersecurity” and was moderated by Elvin Balajanov, a representative of the Cybersecurity Operations Center of the State Security Service.

During the panel, Elshad Nasirov, Head of the Heydar Aliyev Academy of the State Security Service, spoke about the Academy’s priorities and activities related to training specialists in information security and cybersecurity for security agencies. He highlighted specialized training and professional development programs, the available infrastructure, resources, and capabilities, as well as new initiatives being implemented.

Following this, Major General Gunduz Abdullov, Rector of the National Defense University, emphasized the critical importance of professional talent development to build resilient defense systems in response to growing cyber threats amid the transition to a Digital Army. He noted the university’s strong focus on training specialists both domestically and internationally.

Elmar Gasimov, Rector of Baku Higher Oil School, discussed the institution's efforts to expand the country’s talent pool in information and cybersecurity. He presented achievements, the existing infrastructure, and resources at the university, as well as the positive impact of established partnerships and collaborations at local and international levels on the sector’s development.

Subsequently, Elsever Asadov, Vice-Rector for Science and Innovation at Nakhchivan State University, shared information on the university's activities aimed at developing educational programs in information and cybersecurity, highlighting the available infrastructure and opportunities for regional cooperation.

Finally, Vusal Khanlarov, Head of the Department of Informatization of the Education System at the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, elaborated on the Ministry’s initiatives and activities to strengthen the national human resource potential in information and cybersecurity. He discussed measures taken in higher education institutions and referenced the ongoing digital skills project, launched in 2017, which has since covered 30% of students in general and vocational education institutions.